Japan not embracing Kinect?
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Culture, Hardware, Xbox 360,
It's no mystery that the Xbox 360 isn't Japan's ideal console. Big name first person shooters like Halo are not hyped up in Japan to nearly the same extent as they are in America. Apparently, it seems that Kinect may too suffer the same fate, as gamers line up to play Gran Turismo 5 and neglect Kinect entirely. While this doesn't necessarily mean Kinect will have a poor launch in Japan, it's not a good foreshadowing of things to come either. Although, the Japanese base is a fairly small one when compared to both the European and American markets, so Japanese producers still have good reason to make Kinect games even if the hardware isn't embraced by the locals.
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Read More | Kotaku
Gallery: Japan not embracing Kinect?
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Kinect Munich launch brings Stachus gate to life
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Culture, Microsoft, Xbox 360,
Dutch sweetheart Sylvie van der Vaart joined shoppers in Munich's famous Karlsplatz to create a breathtaking piece of interactive, art inspired by Kinect. State of the art technology allowed shoppers to take control of the iconic Stachus gate, bringing the ancient medieval structure to life by jumping, dancing, waving and gyrating. Definitely a cool sight to behold.
Gallery: Kinect Munich launch brings Stachus gate to life
Mandatory Xbox Live update coming Nov 1st
Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
If you've been waiting for the Fall 2010 Xbox Live dashboard update to drop, tomorrow is the day, just in time for the launch of Kinect. This'll be a mandatory update, and anyone who refuses to get it will find themselves unable to connect to the service. According to the message Xbox Live users are receiving in their inboxes, the update will also add minor changes the Dashboard so that: "You will notice a change to the layout of the Xbox LIVE Dashboard, a new color scheme, and new fonts being used.
If you want a look at all the new features the update will bring to your Xbox 360, hit our video after the jump.
Click to continue reading Mandatory Xbox Live update coming Nov 1st
Gallery: Mandatory Xbox Live update coming Nov 1st
Xbox 360 Kinect Edition appears on store shelves early
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Xbox 360,
Okay, so Kinect is the next big thing from the Xbox team over at Microsoft, and the launch is scheduled for November 4th here in the USA. You'd think that'd mean that you'd be unable to get your hands on one until then, but thanks to some slip-ups at select retail locations, you may very well be able to get ahold of Kinect starting today. As you see above, one store has mistakingly put out the 250GB Xbox 360 Kinect Special Edition on the sales floor. Now, we're not saying that it's time for you to start calling around or anything, but if you happen to be hearing to a WalMart or Target type of place, you may wanna give the video game section a glance.
Gallery: Xbox 360 Kinect Edition appears on store shelves early
Buy 2 games, get 1 free next week at Target
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360,
Looking to pick up a gaggle of games for yourself, or for loved ones for the holidays? You'll wanna plan to hit up Target next week, as they are having an awesome "Buy 2, Get One Free" sale, and it applies to all games, including brand new titles. With all the new hotness that's being dropped on us so far in October and early November, this is the place to be if you wanna pick up at least two new games (Kinect, anyone?). So, what are you gonna get?
Read More | GTR
Gallery: Buy 2 games, get 1 free next week at Target
Microsoft claims Kinect will outsell the iPad
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox 360,
In an interview with Gamasutra Kudo Tsunoda stated that pre-orders of Kinect have put it on track to sell millions this holiday season.
“The preorders have been really strong. As far as what we’re looking at for Holiday, this is going to be stuff that’ll blow away any of the sales you’ve seen with iPad,” said Tsunoda.
The iPad broke the one million mark on its 28th day of sale, and shattered 3 million after just three months. With Tsunoda’s claims, it seems that Kinect will even surpass the launch sales of even their own Xbox and Xbox 360. We’ll see.
Read More | Gamasutra
Gallery: Microsoft claims Kinect will outsell the iPad
Xbox LIVE membership fee increasing $10 per year—lock in lower price now
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox Live,
If you haven’t heard by now, Microsoft is going to be increasing the yearly cost of Xbox LIVE membership by $10 per year starting on November 1. This comes after 8 years of the service remaining at a steady $50 per year, and kills rumors that the service would actually go free sometime soon. On November 1, a year of Xbox LIVE Gold will cost you $59.99, one month will cost $9.99 (up from $7.99,) and the three-month subscriptions will go from $19.99 to $24.99. They say it’s to support new features like Kinect, ESPN, and Hulu Plus coming to Xbox LIVE (despite the fact that Hulu Plus costs $10 a month in the first place.)
The one silver lining here is that you can currently buy yourself a one-year Xbox LIVE subscription for just $39.99, locking in that $20 savings for a year. It will just get tacked on to your current subscription if you already have one. If you want multiple years of savings, you can always find Xbox LIVE discounts on Amazon.
Read More | Xbox LIVE Price Lock
Gallery: Xbox LIVE membership fee increasing $10 per year—lock in lower price now
E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: E3, Editorial, Features, Music, Simulation, Xbox 360,
If you didn’t go to E3 this year, well, you didn’t miss much. I mean, well, you missed dancing. And space marines. And Skittles.
You missed Skittles the Dancing Space Marine, the unofficial mascot of E3 2010.
Microsoft hatef*cked their audience with scripted hilarity and dated motion control games. Sony pimped a new 3D TV technology that costs thousands and can only be watched by a few people at a time. Nintendo was the show’s net positive with a bunch of new, awesome games and the 3DS’s grand appearance.
Some commentators looked at this year’s presentation and predicted the fall of the game industry. Others sighed and walked away. Some of us were unable to post because we were caught somewhere inbetween the NBA Finals riots and my third vodka and red bull, which was weak, and I took notice of that.
I’m here to tell you that things aren’t quite as grim as some would have you believe. This time around, I want to talk about Kinect. Hit the jump for some ill-informed musings.
Click to continue reading E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Gallery: E3 2010 Post-Coital Shame: The Sky is Falling - Kinect Edition
Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Microsoft, Release Dates, Xbox 360,
Even with companies like Amazon, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart all listing Kinect at $150, Microsoft decided they’d wait it out on naming the price officially, for whatever reason. Today, however, they’ve announced that Kinect for Xbox 360 will launch on November 4th at $149.99, and it’ll come bundled with Kinect Adventures. Adventures is gonna be like their Wii Sports, a collection of minigames that are fun and highlight what Kinect can do.
For buyers who want to get Kinect with an Xbox 360 console, there will be a $300 bundle that will include one of the new Xbox 360 consoles (with 4GB built-in storage,) the Kinect sensor, and Kinect Adventures.
Aside from Kinect hardware pricing, Microsoft has also said that Kinect games will sell for $50 each, which is $10 less than the normal $60 price. However, Microsoft sold all their first-party Xbox 360 titles for $50 before, and quickly stopped that practice. Also, it’s a shame to see that Joy Ride will now sell for $50, when originally it was supposed to be free.
You can pre-order Kinect on Amazon.
Gallery: Kinect for Xbox 360: $150 on Nov 4 with Kinect Adventures
Xbox Live Gold Family Pack coming in November
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Sounds like Microsoft has finally succumbed to the cries of many an Xbox 360 family, as they are set to launch a new Xbox Live Gold Family Pack subscription. Basically, rather than having a bunch of individual accounts on your console and having to manage them all separately, you get four Xbox Live Gold accounts for $99.99. That’s half price. There will also be a Family Center area where you can manage settings for each account from the primary account. The primary account can even purchase and give Microsoft Points to the other members of the family, and access monitoring reports. Here’s the rundown:
- Up to four individual Xbox LIVE Gold memberships for the price of two – (US) $99.99.
- Family Center – a single, easy to use, destination for Family Settings and account management, accessible on the Xbox dashboard and on Xbox.com.
- The primary account member has the ability to purchase and dispense Microsoft Points to other Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack members.
- Activity monitoring reports viewable on Xbox.com to help encourage discussions about safer more balanced gaming and entertainment habits.
- Simplified billing that applies all purchase charges to the primary account holder’s billing account and the ability to authorize purchases, helping to manage the family’s entertainment budget.
- Exclusive family content and discounts.
We’ve gotta give Microsoft some credit for finally releasing the Xbox Live Gold Family Pack. We are guessing it will arrive as part of a dashboard update for the Xbox 360 in conjunction with the release of Kinect.
Read More | Gamerscore Blog
Gallery: Xbox Live Gold Family Pack coming in November
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